PE Deals

Encore Consumer-backed quinoa pioneer Ancient Harvest doubles revenue with add-on

The acquisition will give Ancient Harvest better leverage with its suppliers, as the company and Pamela’s work with some of the same companies

-
quinoa

Ancient Harvest, known for helping to establish quinoa in the U.S. as a superfood, doubled its sales revenue to $50 million with its first add-on since Encore Consumer Capital invested in 2012.

Ancient Harvest this week bought Pamela’s, a maker of gluten-free products. The acquisition will give Ancient Harvest better leverage with its suppliers, as the company and Pamela’s work with some of the same companies.

“There are some great synergies at the brand level,” CEO of Ancient Harvest John Becker told PE Hub. “Ancient Harvest and Pamela’s are both pioneers in the natural food space. We go back to the ‘80s and have strong, established consumers bases. Gluten-free is a strong focus for both brands.”

Additional synergies will come from Fantasy Cookie Co., also backed by Encore Consumer Capital, that will manufacture Pamela’s products, said Steve Mintz, operating partner with Encore.

“While always active in the gluten-free baking sector, Pamela’s represents a new level of critical mass in gluten-free manufacturing at Fantasy,” Mintz said. Focused on the consumer products industry, Encore has raised $600 million and invested in more than 30 companies.

The Pamela’s brand will be integrated into the Ancient Harvest infrastructure and be run by the company’s management team.

Ancient Harvest’s products include organic, non-GMO, plant-based foods and polenta.

This year, Ancient Harvest will experience a brand overhaul. The Colorado-based health food company will also launch a new line of gluten-free pasta and another product to be announced in sixty days, according to Becker.

“My expectation is that we’ll have a pretty robust innovation plan for both brands.”

President and founder of Pamela’s, Pamela Giusto-Sorrells, will step away from day-to-day operations of the company, which she founded in 1988. Since then the gluten-free space has grown significantly. Giusto-Sorrells said that joining Ancient Harvest ensures Pamela’s will continue to deliver quality gluten-free foods.

Action Item: Check out Encore Consumer’s Form ADV here: https://bit.ly/38bIdxi